Christmas Day in the morning

1 He woke suddenly and completely. It was four o'clock, the hour at which his father had always called him to get up and help with the milking. Strange how the habits of his youth clung to him still! His father had been dead for 30 years, and yet he still woke at four o'clock in the morning. But this morning, because it was Christmas, he did not try to sleep again.

2 Yet what was the magic of Christmas now? His childhood and youth were long past, and his own children had grown up and gone.

3 Yesterday his wife had said, "It isn't worthwhile, perhaps – "

4 And he had said, "Yes, Alice, even if there are only the two of us, let's have a Christmas of our own."

5 Then she had said, "Let's not trim the tree until tomorrow, Robert. I'm tired."

6 He had agreed, and the tree was still out by the back door.

7 He lay in his bed in his room.

8 Why did he feel so awake tonight? For it was still night, a clear and starry night. No moon, of course, but the stars were extraordinary! Now that he thought of it, the stars seemed always large and clear before the dawn of Christmas Day.

9 He slipped back in time, as he did so easily nowadays. He was 15 years old and still on his father's farm. He loved his father. He had not known it until one day a few days before Christmas, when he had overheard what his father was saying to his mother.

10 "Mary, I hate to call Rob in the mornings. He's growing so fast, and he needs his sleep. I wish I could manage alone."

11 "Well, you can't, Adam." His mother's voice was brisk, "Besides, he isn't a child any more. It's time he took his turn."

12 "Yes," his father said slowly, "But I sure do hate to wake him."

13 When he heard these words, something in him woke: His father loved him! He had never thought of it before, taking for granted the tie of their blood. Now that he knew his father loved him, there would be no more loitering in the mornings and having to be called again. He got up, stumbling blind with sleep, and pulled on his clothes.

14 And then on the night before Christmas, he lay thinking about the next day. They were poor, and most of the excitement was in the turkey they had raised themselves and in the mince pies his mother made. His sisters sewed presents, and his mother and father always bought something he needed, a warm jacket, maybe, or a book. And he always saved and bought them each something, too.

15 He wished, that Christmas he was 15, he had a better present for his father instead of the usual tie from the ten-cent store. He lay on his side and looked out of his attic window.

16 "Dad," he had once asked when he was a little boy, "What is a stable?"

17 "It's just a barn," his father had replied, "like ours."

18 Then Jesus had been born in a barn, and to a barn the shepherds and the Wise Men had come, bringing their Christmas gifts!

19 A thought struck him like a silver dagger. Why should he not give his father a special gift, out there in the barn? He could get up earlier, creep into the barn and get all the milking done. And then when his father went in to start the milking, he'd see it all done.

20 He laughed to himself as he gazed at the stars. It was what he would do, and he mustn't sleep too soundly.

21 He must have woken 20 times, striking a match each time to look at his old watch.

22 At a quarter to three, he got up and crept downstairs, careful of the creaky boards, and let himself out. A big star hung low over the roof, a reddish gold. The cows looked at him, sleepy and surprised. It was early for them, too.

23 But they accepted him calmly and he brought some hay for each cow and then got the milking pail and the big milk cans.

24 He had never milked all alone before, but it seemed almost easy. He smiled and milked steadily, two strong streams rushing into the pail, frothing and fragrant. The cows were behaving well, as though they knew it was Christmas.

25 The task went more easily than he had ever known it to before. Milking for once was not a chore. It was a gift to his father. He finished, the two milk cans were full, and he covered them and closed the milk-house door carefully, making sure of the latch. He put the stool in its place by the door and hung up the clean milk pail. Then he went out of the barn and barred the door behind him.

26 Back in his room he had only a minute to pull off his clothes and jump into bed, before he heard his father get up. He put the covers over his head to silence his quick breathing. The door opened.

27 "Rob!" his father called. "We have to get up, son, even if it is Christmas."

28 "Aw-right," he said sleepily.

29 "I'll go on out," his father said. "I'll get things started."

30 The door closed and he lay still, laughing to himself. In just a few minutes his father would know. His dancing heart was ready to jump from his body.

31 The minutes were endless – 10, 15, he did not know how many – and he heard his father's footsteps again. The door opened.

32 "Rob!"

33 "Yes, Dad – "

34 "You son of a – " His father was laughing, a queer sobbing sort of a laugh. "Thought you'd fool me, did you?" His father was standing beside his bed, feeling for him, pulling away the cover.

35 He found his father and clutched him in a great hug. He felt his father's arms go around him. It was dark, and they could not see each other's faces.

36 "Son, I thank you. Nobody ever did a nicer thing – "

37 "It's for Christmas, Dad!"

38 He did not know what to say. His heart was bursting with love.

39 "Well. I guess I can go back to sleep," his father said after a moment. "No, come to think of it, son, I've never seen you children when you first saw the Christmas tree. I was always in the barn. Come on!"

40 He pulled on his clothes again, and they went down to the Christmas tree, and soon the sun was creeping up to where the star had been. Oh, what a Christmas morning, and how his heart had nearly burst again with shyness and pride as his father told his mother about how he, Rob, had got up all by himself.

41 "The best Christmas gift I ever had, and I'll remember it, son, every year on Christmas morning, as long as I live."

42 They had both remembered it, and now that his father was dead he remembered it alone: That blessed Christmas dawn when, along with the cows in the barn, he had made his first gift of true love. Outside the window now the stars slowly faded. He got out of bed and put on his slippers and bathrobe and went softly downstairs. He brought in the tree, and carefully began to trim it. It was done very soon. He then went to his library and brought the little box that contained his special gift to his wife, a diamond brooch, not large, but beautiful in design. But he was not satisfied. He wanted to tell her – to tell her how much he loved her.

43 How fortunate that he had been able to love! Ah, that was the true joy of life, the ability to love! For he was quite sure that some people were genuinely unable to love anyone. But love was alive in him; it still was.

44 It occurred to him suddenly that it was alive because long ago it had been born in him when he knew his father loved him. That was it: Love alone could waken love.

45 And this morning, this blessed Christmas morning, he would give it to his beloved wife. He could write it down in a letter for her to read and keep forever. He went to his desk and began: My dearest love.

46 When it was finished, he sealed it and tied it on the tree. He put out the light and went tiptoeing up the stairs. The stars in the sky were gone, and the first rays of the sun were gleaming in the east, such a happy, happy Christmas!

X

圣誕節(jié)早晨

1 他突然從睡夢(mèng)中醒來(lái)，睡意全無(wú)。 現(xiàn)在是早上四點(diǎn)，以前他父親總是在這個(gè)點(diǎn)把他叫醒，讓他去幫著擠奶。 真是奇怪，他竟然還保持著青少年時(shí)的習(xí)慣。 雖然他的父親已經(jīng)過(guò)世30年了，但他還是一到早上四點(diǎn)就醒了。 不過(guò)今天早上，因?yàn)槭鞘フQ節(jié)，他不想接著睡了。

2 圣誕節(jié)現(xiàn)在對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)還有什么魔力呢？ 他的童年和青春早已過(guò)去，他自己的子女都已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)大成人，離開(kāi)家了。

3 昨天他的妻子說(shuō)：“也許沒(méi)必要再花這個(gè)力氣……”

4 他回答說(shuō)：“不，愛(ài)麗絲，就算家里只有我們兩個(gè)人，我們也要過(guò)一個(gè)自己的圣誕節(jié)?！?/p>

5 然后她說(shuō)：“那我們明天再裝修圣誕樹(shù)吧，羅伯特，我累了?！?/p>

6 他同意了，圣誕樹(shù)現(xiàn)在還放在屋外后門的邊上。

7 他躺在自己房間的床上。

8 他今晚為什么會(huì)感覺(jué)如此清醒呢？ 現(xiàn)在天還沒(méi)有亮，還是清澈無(wú)云、星光熠熠的夜晚。 當(dāng)然，也沒(méi)有月亮。但是星星卻格外明亮！ 想到這兒，他意識(shí)到在圣誕節(jié)的晨曦來(lái)臨之前，天上的星星似乎總是那么大、那么明亮。

9 他最近很容易懷舊，所以他的思緒又回到了過(guò)去。 那時(shí)他才15歲，還住在他父親的農(nóng)場(chǎng)里。 他深愛(ài)自己的父親。 他沒(méi)有意識(shí)到這點(diǎn)，直到圣誕節(jié)來(lái)臨的前幾天，他偶然聽(tīng)到父親對(duì)母親說(shuō)的話。

10 “瑪麗，我真不想每天早上那么早就把羅伯叫起來(lái)， 他現(xiàn)在正是長(zhǎng)身體的時(shí)候，他需要多睡覺(jué)。 我真希望自己一個(gè)人就能搞定。”

11 “嗯，亞當(dāng)，你一個(gè)人是搞不定的，” 他母親的聲音干脆利落：“再說(shuō)，他也不是孩子了，應(yīng)該開(kāi)始幫家里干活了?！?/p>

12 “話是這么說(shuō)”，他父親緩緩地說(shuō)：“可我真不想把他叫醒?！?/p>

13 當(dāng)他聽(tīng)到這些話的時(shí)候，他內(nèi)心突然意識(shí)到一件事：他的父親愛(ài)他！ 以前他從來(lái)沒(méi)有想過(guò)這個(gè)，只是理所當(dāng)然地認(rèn)定他們之間存在著血脈關(guān)系。 現(xiàn)在既然他已經(jīng)知道了他的父親那么愛(ài)他，那他早上就不會(huì)再磨磨蹭蹭，不用讓父親一再叫他。 他起了床，睡眼朦朧、跌跌撞撞地在黑暗中摸索著穿上衣服。

14 在圣誕節(jié)的前夜，他躺在床上想著第二天的事情。 他們家很窮，圣誕節(jié)最讓人興奮的就是吃他們自己養(yǎng)大的那只火雞和母親親手做的肉餡餅。 他的姐姐們會(huì)親手縫制一些禮物，他的父母總是買一些他需要的東西作為禮物，可能是一件溫暖的外套，也可能是一本書(shū)。 而他也總會(huì)存點(diǎn)錢，給他們每個(gè)人買禮物。

15 這個(gè)圣誕節(jié)他已經(jīng)15歲了。他希望他能有更好的禮物送給父親，而不是像以往那樣送一條從廉價(jià)商店買來(lái)的普通領(lǐng)帶。 他側(cè)躺在床上，從閣樓的窗戶望出去。

16 “爸爸”，當(dāng)他還是個(gè)小孩子的時(shí)候，有一次他問(wèn)：“馬廄是什么呀？”

17 “就是一個(gè)谷倉(cāng)，”他父親回答道，“和我們家的一樣?！?/p>

18 那么，耶穌是在谷倉(cāng)里誕生的，牧羊人和智者都帶著圣誕禮物，去那里看望過(guò)他。

19 就好像一把銀光閃閃的匕首刺中他的身體一樣，一個(gè)想法在他心中閃現(xiàn)：為什么不在谷倉(cāng)里送父親一件特殊的禮物呢？ 他可以早點(diǎn)起床，偷偷地溜進(jìn)谷倉(cāng)，自己一個(gè)人把奶擠好。 然后當(dāng)他的父親進(jìn)到谷倉(cāng)里的時(shí)候，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)奶都已經(jīng)擠好了。

20 他凝望著滿天的星星，不禁偷笑起來(lái)。 對(duì)，就這么干！他可不能睡得太沉。

21 這一夜他差不多醒了20次，每次都點(diǎn)亮一根火柴，看一眼他那塊老舊的手表。

22 差一刻三點(diǎn)的時(shí)候，他起了床，偷偷地下樓，小心翼翼地不讓地板發(fā)出響聲，出了大門。 屋頂上低垂著一顆大星星，閃著微紅的金光。 奶牛們看著他，睡眼迷蒙，有些驚訝。 這個(gè)點(diǎn)對(duì)它們來(lái)說(shuō)也有點(diǎn)早。

23 但是它們平靜地接受了他。他給每頭奶牛喂了一些干草，然后拿來(lái)了擠奶桶和奶罐。

24 以前他從沒(méi)一個(gè)人擠過(guò)奶，但是這看上去應(yīng)該非常簡(jiǎn)單。 他微笑著，不緊不慢地?cái)D著奶，兩股奶流噴射進(jìn)了擠奶桶，帶著泡沫和奶香。 奶牛們都非常配合，好像它們都知道今天是圣誕節(jié)一樣。

25 擠奶進(jìn)行得比他以前任何一次都要順利。 這一回，擠奶不再是累人的家務(wù)。 這是他送給父親的禮物。 他完成了，兩個(gè)奶罐都裝滿了。他把它們蓋好，小心翼翼地關(guān)上了擠奶房的門，插緊門栓。 他把板凳放回門邊的原處，把洗干凈的擠奶桶掛起來(lái)，然后他走出谷倉(cāng)，把身后的門閂插上。

26 回到屋里，他脫下衣服，跳上了床。沒(méi)過(guò)一分鐘，他就聽(tīng)到了他父親起床了。 他用被子蒙住了頭，來(lái)掩蓋自己急促的呼吸聲。 門開(kāi)了。

27 “羅伯，” 他父親喊道， “兒子，我們得起床了，就算是圣誕節(jié)也得起啊?！?/p>

28 “好-吧，”他睡意朦朧地回答。

29 “我先出去，”他父親說(shuō)：“我先開(kāi)始干了?！?/p>

30 門關(guān)上了，他躺在那里一動(dòng)不動(dòng)，暗自偷笑。 再過(guò)幾分鐘，他父親就會(huì)知道了。 他那劇烈跳動(dòng)的心都要從他的胸腔里跳出來(lái)了。

31 這幾分鐘過(guò)得非常慢。十分鐘，十五分鐘，不知道過(guò)了多少分鐘。他又聽(tīng)到了父親的腳步聲。 房門打開(kāi)了。

32 “羅伯!”

33 “爸爸，怎么啦？”

34 “你這個(gè)臭……” 父親在笑，但是是一種奇怪的帶著抽泣的笑。 “你以為你能騙得了我？” 他的父親就站在床邊，摸索著，摸到了他的身體，掀開(kāi)了被子。

35 他碰到了他父親的身體，張開(kāi)雙臂抱緊了他。 他感覺(jué)到父親的雙臂也抱住了他，房間里漆黑一片，他們看不清對(duì)方的臉龐。

36 “兒子，謝謝你，這輩子沒(méi)人對(duì)我這么好過(guò)?！?/p>

37 “爸爸，這是給你的圣誕禮物?！?/p>

38 他不知道該說(shuō)些什么， 他的內(nèi)心充滿了愛(ài)。

39 “嗯，我想我還可以回去睡會(huì)，”過(guò)了一會(huì)他父親說(shuō)道。 “不，兒子，你想想，每次你們一早看到圣誕樹(shù)的時(shí)候，我都沒(méi)看到你們的樣子。因?yàn)槲夷菚?huì)兒都在谷倉(cāng)里干活。來(lái)！”

40 他又穿上了衣服，他們一起下樓，走到圣誕樹(shù)跟前。很快太陽(yáng)爬了上來(lái)，星星隱去。 ??！這是一個(gè)多么美好的圣誕節(jié)早晨啊！當(dāng)他的父親告訴他母親他，羅伯，是怎么自己一個(gè)人起來(lái)擠奶的時(shí)候，他內(nèi)心充滿了害羞與自豪。

41 “這是我收到過(guò)的最好的圣誕禮物，我不會(huì)忘記的，兒子，在我有生之年的每一個(gè)圣誕節(jié)早上，我都會(huì)想起來(lái)的?！?/p>

42 后來(lái)他們兩人都沒(méi)有忘記?，F(xiàn)在他的父親已經(jīng)去世，他只有獨(dú)自緬懷：那個(gè)美好的圣誕節(jié)早晨，和谷倉(cāng)里的奶牛一起，他送出了第一個(gè)充滿了真愛(ài)的禮物。 現(xiàn)在窗外的星光開(kāi)始變得暗淡。 他從床上起身，穿上拖鞋和浴袍，輕輕地走下樓去。 他把圣誕樹(shù)拿了進(jìn)來(lái)，開(kāi)始仔細(xì)裝飾。 他很快就裝飾好了。 然后他走到書(shū)房，拿出一個(gè)小盒子，里面裝著他送給妻子的特別禮物，一個(gè)鑲著鉆石的胸針。胸針不大，但是設(shè)計(jì)精美。 但他并不滿足于此，他想要告訴她，告訴她他是多么地愛(ài)她。

43 他是多么幸運(yùn)！因?yàn)樗袗?ài)的能力。 這種愛(ài)的能力才是生命中真正喜悅的源泉。 他非常清楚地知道有些人真的是沒(méi)有愛(ài)別人的能力。 但是愛(ài)曾在他的心中蕩漾，現(xiàn)在仍是如此。

44 他突然想到，他的心中之所以有愛(ài)，是因?yàn)樵诤芫靡郧?，?dāng)他知道父親愛(ài)他之后，他的心中就有了愛(ài)。 就是這樣：愛(ài)本身就足以喚起別人心中的愛(ài)。

45 這個(gè)早晨，在這個(gè)美好的圣誕節(jié)早晨，他要向他心愛(ài)的妻子表達(dá)愛(ài)意。 他可以寫一封信來(lái)表達(dá)愛(ài)意，這樣他的妻子讀完了還可以永久保存這封信。 于是他坐到書(shū)桌前，開(kāi)始寫：我最親愛(ài)的寶貝……

46 寫完之后，他把信裝進(jìn)信封封好，系到圣誕樹(shù)上。 他關(guān)了燈，躡手躡腳地上了樓，天空中的星星已經(jīng)消逝，第一縷陽(yáng)光在東方閃耀。這是一個(gè)多么開(kāi)心、多么幸福的圣誕節(jié)啊！

Chinese or Western, it's a time to relax

1 It's that time of the year when the world seems to be caught in a trance – the trance of end-of-year celebrations. End-of-year, I said.

2 The problem seems to be exactly that. Why should we in China refer to the week between December 24 and 31 as the end of the year when ours (according to the lunar calendar) is at least a month away?

3 We do so apparently because Christmas and New Year have become global festivals, not because they (especially Christmas) are essentially Western in nature and spirit, but because we can relax during those few days.

4 Nevertheless, some scholars and students have expressed concern over the increasing influence of Christmas on oriental, particularly Chinese, culture. Their fears may be justified to a certain extent. In fact, we Chinese do seem to attach a lot more time and attention to Christmas today than we did even a couple of decades ago.

5 For good or bad, the world has possibly undergone more changes in the past two decades than it did in the past two centuries. We have used more resources, burnt more fuel, caused more pollution and killed off more animals and plants as we have come closer to each other to form a truly global village. Television, we thought, was the last uniting factor till we got a feel for the Internet.

6 All these changes have made us take a different look at the world beyond and our home within. Nothing comes without a rider in this global market. If we want to be part of the dazzle and comfort that the West is known for, we had better accept some of its anomalies, too. This is not to say that festivals mean something else to the West.

7 Be it on the mainland or in the highly developed West or in the poorest of societies, a festival carries the same meaning. People across the world celebrate them with their family and friends. The basic concept is the same too, sharing a feast or a humble meal (with a few drinks in some societies like ours and the West).

8 We celebrate an occasion to vent our feelings, to relax and enjoy a break from the everyday skulduggery that life in these times has become. It's apparently no different from the break our ancestors enjoyed from the mundane affairs of their daily lives.

9 Most of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, including us, in their day-to-day lives. So the festivals and special events in that calendar are bound to influence us. That we, like many South, Southeast Asian, Middle East and perhaps some indigenous American people, follow the lunar calendar for our festivals is a different matter altogether.

10 We cannot afford to be left untouched by the festive spirit of the West, which doesn't mean we follow the West blindly. Not everything about their culture may be good, but decadence is not the sole preserve of the West. No culture in the world is free of decadence and that includes Chinese culture.

11 So the problem is not Western culture, or what we generally associate with it. The problem is those who are blinded by everything Western. We have to find out why more and more Chinese, especially the youngsters, feel at one with Western festivals as much as they do with the Chinese ones. But thankfully our festivals have lost none of their charm. And here is where the alarm bells sounded by scholars and students come in.

12 I can understand the zeal of these people. They want to conserve our culture, and that definitely doesn't make them what we generally refer to as "conservatives". They have a point. But they, or for that matter anybody else, cannot save any society from the influence of a world getting smaller by the day.

13 So instead of trying to shut our eyes and ears to Western festivals, we should accept the goodness they offer and practise what they stand for. And let's not forget that Jesus was not born in the West but the East (the Middle East, to be precise), and he preached love for mankind and help for the poor.

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不管是中國(guó)的節(jié)日還是西方的節(jié)日，都是我們放松的時(shí)候

1 每年的這個(gè)時(shí)候，整個(gè)世界仿佛都陷入了一種迷狂——人們狂熱地進(jìn)行著歲末的慶?；顒?dòng)。 我說(shuō)的是歲末。

2 問(wèn)題就出在這兒。 為什么我們中國(guó)人要把12月24日到31日這一周作為歲末來(lái)慶祝，而我們自己的歲末（按照陰歷）至少還有一個(gè)月才到呢？

3 我們這么做，顯然是因?yàn)槭フQ節(jié)和元旦已經(jīng)成了全球性的節(jié)日，并不是因?yàn)樗鼈儯ㄓ绕涫鞘フQ節(jié)）在本質(zhì)上和精神上主要代表了西方文化，而是因?yàn)樵谶@幾天里我們能好好放松一下。

4 但是，圣誕節(jié)對(duì)于東方文化，尤其是中國(guó)文化的影響與日俱增，對(duì)此，一些學(xué)者和學(xué)生表示擔(dān)憂。 從某種程度上講，他們的憂慮是有道理的。 的確，與幾十年前相比，現(xiàn)在中國(guó)人花在圣誕節(jié)上的時(shí)間和精力似乎要多很多。

5 不管是好是壞，世界在過(guò)去二十多年間所經(jīng)歷的變化可能比過(guò)去兩百年間所經(jīng)歷的還要多。 為了讓彼此間聯(lián)系得更緊密，營(yíng)造出一個(gè)真正的地球村，我們消耗了更多的資源，燒掉了更多的能源，造成了更多的污染，滅殺了更多的動(dòng)植物。 過(guò)去，我們一直把電視看作是連接全世界的終極手段，直到我們了解了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，才發(fā)現(xiàn)事實(shí)并非如此。

6 所有這些變化都讓我們用另外一種眼光來(lái)看待外面的世界以及我們自己的家園。 在這個(gè)全球市場(chǎng)中，得到任何東西都是要付出代價(jià)的。 如果我們想擁有眾所聞知的西方世界的眩目而舒適的生活，我們也必須接受西方文化中的一些異常事物。 這并不是說(shuō)節(jié)日對(duì)于西方人來(lái)說(shuō)有著不同的意義。

7 不管是在中國(guó)大陸，還是在高度發(fā)達(dá)的西方國(guó)家，抑或是世界上最貧窮的社會(huì)，節(jié)日承載著相同的意義。 世界各地的人們和家人、朋友一起慶祝節(jié)日。 節(jié)日的基本概念是一樣的，就是大家分享一頓盛宴或是一餐便飯（在西方或是我們的國(guó)家里，人們會(huì)小酌幾杯）。

8 我們慶祝節(jié)日，是為了釋放情感，放松身心，是為了從現(xiàn)代生活的爾虞我詐中擺脫出來(lái)，得到片刻的安寧。 顯然，這和我們的祖先從日常俗事中尋求解脫是一回事兒。

9 世界上多數(shù)國(guó)家在日常生活中采用格列高利歷，中國(guó)也是如此。 所以這個(gè)歷法中的節(jié)日和特殊事件注定會(huì)影響到我們。 而我們，和許多南亞、東南亞、中東，或許還有一些美國(guó)土著居民一樣，根據(jù)陰歷來(lái)過(guò)節(jié)，而這又完全是另外一回事兒了。

10 對(duì)于西方的節(jié)日氣氛無(wú)動(dòng)于衷，這我們做不到，但這也并不意味著我們要盲目跟風(fēng)。 西方文化不全都是好的，但同時(shí)，頹廢的東西也不是西方文化所獨(dú)有的。 世界上沒(méi)有一種文化能免于頹廢，中國(guó)文化也不例外。

11 所以，問(wèn)題并不在于西方文化，也不在于那些我們通常和西方文化聯(lián)系在一起的東西。 問(wèn)題出在那些唯西方馬首是瞻的人身上。 為什么越來(lái)越多的中國(guó)人，尤其是中國(guó)的年輕人，對(duì)于西方節(jié)日和中國(guó)節(jié)日一樣怡然自得，我們應(yīng)該找出其中的原因。 好在我們自己的節(jié)日并沒(méi)有失去它們的風(fēng)采。 而正是因?yàn)閾?dān)心這一點(diǎn)，我們的學(xué)者和學(xué)生們敲響了警鐘。

12 我能夠理解這些人的熱情。 他們想保護(hù)我們的文化，但絕對(duì)不能因?yàn)檫@一點(diǎn)就認(rèn)為他們是我們通常所說(shuō)的保守派。 他們的觀點(diǎn)有一定的道理。 但是在這件事情上，他們和其他人一樣，無(wú)法使任何社會(huì)免受日益變小的世界的影響。

13 所以，我們不應(yīng)該對(duì)西方的節(jié)日視而不見(jiàn)、充耳不聞，相反，我們應(yīng)該取其精華，去實(shí)踐這些節(jié)日所倡導(dǎo)的德行。 我們不要忘了，耶穌誕生于東方（確切地說(shuō)，是中東），而不是在西方，我們也應(yīng)該記住他要我們熱愛(ài)全人類，扶貧助弱。

Day of the Dead

It may seem strange to imagine that a “festival” can celebrate “death”. Nevertheless, that is exactly what happens in Mexico every year on the Day of the Dead.?

On 1 and 2 November families celebrate a reunion with their dead relatives in a unique way. From mid-October onwards, the shops are filled with candies made of sugar in the shape of skulls and other symbols of death which to outsiders may look quite morbid: Papier-maché skeletons and pan de muerto (“bread of the dead”), a type of cake decorated with bone-shaped candy, are all part of the celebrations.

During the festival, families will visit cemeteries where they clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones. They will bring special food offerings and marigolds, flowers which are thought to guide the souls of the dead to meet them. Candles and incense are also burned and bells may ring through the night. Families stay at the graveside and say prayers for the dead while eating and drinking in a party-like atmosphere.

The origins of this festival go back to the ancient indigenous peoples of Mexico such as the Purépecha, Maya and Aztec. They believed that the souls of the dead returned each year to visit their living relatives – to eat, drink and be merry, just as they did when they were living. Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 15th century, it was common for people to keep skulls, which they saw as symbols of life, not death.

Day of the Dead festivities vary from town to town. Some people build altars in their homes, showing pictures of the dead relatives and Catholic symbols such as crosses and small statues of Jesus surrounded by lots of candles. In other places the town square may be taken over with people dancing in colourful costumes and skull-shaped masks. The Day of the Dead is also an annual spectacle outside Mexico in countries such as the United States, where there are fairly large Mexican communities.

Despite the fact that death is a sad event, the mood is joyful rather than sad, celebrating the continuation of life and the belief that death is just another phase of life, not the end of everything.

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亡靈節(jié)

想象一下這個(gè)世界上有一個(gè)“節(jié)日”是慶?！八劳觥钡?，這似乎有點(diǎn)兒怪。但是在墨西哥，這正是每年的亡靈節(jié)里發(fā)生的事情。

每年的11月1號(hào)和2號(hào)這兩天，墨西哥家庭會(huì)以一種獨(dú)特的方式來(lái)慶祝他們與死去的親人團(tuán)聚。從 10月中旬開(kāi)始，商店里就擺滿了骷髏形狀的糖果，以及其他一些在外人看來(lái)有點(diǎn)病態(tài)的象征死亡的東西：用紙板制作的骷髏，還有一種叫 pan de muerto（“亡靈面包”）的甜點(diǎn)，這是一種表面裝飾著骷髏狀糖果的蛋糕，所有這些都是節(jié)日慶祝的重要組成部分。

節(jié)日期間，人們會(huì)舉家前往墓園祭拜親人，打掃并裝飾墳?zāi)埂Ｈ藗儙?lái)特殊的祭用食品和金盞花，大家認(rèn)為金盞花能指引亡靈來(lái)和他們相見(jiàn)。夜里，人們點(diǎn)蠟燭，焚香，敲鈴鐺。一家人守在墓旁，一邊為亡靈祈禱，一邊像聚會(huì)一樣吃吃喝喝。

這個(gè)節(jié)日的起源可以追溯到墨西哥古代的土著人，如普爾皮洽人、馬雅人，以及阿茲特克人。他們認(rèn)為亡靈每年都會(huì)回來(lái)探訪在世的親人們——就像他們活著的時(shí)候一樣，來(lái)世間吃喝玩樂(lè)。15世紀(jì)西班牙人到來(lái)之前，人們?cè)诩依锓艓讉€(gè)頭骨是很平常的事情，因?yàn)樗麄儼痒俭t當(dāng)作生命的象征，而不是死亡的象征。

墨西哥各地亡靈節(jié)的風(fēng)俗不盡相同。一些地方的人們?cè)诩依锎罴缐瑝蠑[放著去世親人的照片，還有像十字架、耶穌雕像這樣天主教的標(biāo)志，周圍再點(diǎn)上一圈蠟燭。在其他地方，城市的廣場(chǎng)上人頭攢動(dòng)，人們身著色彩艷麗的服裝，戴著骷髏面具，載歌載舞。亡靈節(jié)在墨西哥以外的國(guó)家，比如美國(guó)這樣的墨西哥移民數(shù)量眾多的國(guó)家，也是個(gè)一年一度的盛事。

盡管死亡是件令人悲傷的事情，亡靈節(jié)的氣氛卻歡快而不憂傷，人們慶祝著生命的延續(xù)，相信死亡不過(guò)是生命另一個(gè)階段的開(kāi)始，而并非所有一切的終結(jié)。

The modern American holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. Her campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the US began in 1905, the year her beloved mother died. Due to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, in 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation (公告) creating Mother's Day as a national holiday to honour mothers. Although Jarvis was successful in founding Mother's Day, she soon became resentful of its commercialization. By the early 1920s, some companies had started selling Mother's Day cards. Jarvis became so angered by what she saw as misinterpretation and exploitation that she protested against Mother's Day and even tried to remove it from the calendar. The original intention of the holiday was to appreciate and honour mothers by writing a personal letter, by hand, expressing love and gratitude; it wasn't to buy gifts and cards. Jarvis' holiday is now celebrated all over the world. Mother's Day falls on different days depending on the countries where it is celebrated. It is held on the second Sunday of May in many countries, such as Australia, Canada and the United States.

1908年，安娜?賈維斯在西弗吉尼亞州的格拉夫頓市為自己的母親舉行了一個(gè)追思會(huì)，這是人們第一次慶祝母親節(jié)這個(gè)現(xiàn)代美國(guó)節(jié)日。賈維斯深愛(ài)的母親于1905年去世，從這年開(kāi)始她就積極開(kāi)展活動(dòng)，要讓母親節(jié)成為美國(guó)的正式節(jié)日。經(jīng)過(guò)安娜?賈維斯的努力，1914年伍德羅?威爾遜總統(tǒng)簽署公告設(shè)立母親節(jié)，使它成為一個(gè)向母親致敬的全國(guó)性節(jié)日。盡管賈維斯成功地創(chuàng)立了母親節(jié)，但是母親節(jié)的商業(yè)化很快就讓她感到了不滿。到了20世紀(jì)20年代初，很多公司開(kāi)始出售母親節(jié)賀卡，賈維斯對(duì)這種在她看來(lái)是誤解和開(kāi)發(fā)利用母親節(jié)的行為感到痛心，她提出抗議甚至試圖要廢除母親節(jié)。這個(gè)節(jié)日的初衷是讓大家向母親表示感謝和敬意，采取的形式應(yīng)該是寫親筆信傳達(dá)愛(ài)意和感激，而不是通過(guò)買禮物和賀卡這樣的方式。賈維斯創(chuàng)立的這個(gè)節(jié)日現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是全球性的節(jié)日。不同的國(guó)家慶祝母親節(jié)的日期有所不同。在很多國(guó)家，例如澳大利亞、加拿大和美國(guó)，人們慶祝母親節(jié)的日子是五月的第二個(gè)星期天。

春節(jié)是中國(guó)最重要的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。但近年來(lái)，很多人都抱怨過(guò)年的氣氛越來(lái)越淡，已經(jīng)很難感受到記憶中過(guò)年的那種美好感覺(jué)了。事實(shí)上，春節(jié)在過(guò)去之所以顯得重要，是因?yàn)橹挥械搅舜汗?jié)人們才能享美食、穿新衣。而隨著中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的迅速發(fā)展，人們的物質(zhì)生活越來(lái)越豐富，人們慶祝春節(jié)的方式也發(fā)生了一些變化。比如說(shuō)，越來(lái)越多的人選擇過(guò)年時(shí)外出旅游。但無(wú)論如何，對(duì)于中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，春節(jié)的重要性是不可替代的。

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional holiday in China. But in recent years, many people have complained that the celebratory atmosphere of lunar New Year is not as strong as it used to be, and it is hard for them to regain that wonderful feeling in their memories. In fact, in the past, it was only during the Spring Festival that people could enjoy delicious food and wear new clothes. This explains why this holiday was so important to Chinese people. But with the rapid development of the Chinese economy and an increasingly rich material life, the ways in which Chinese people celebrate the Spring Festival have changed. For instance, more and more Chinese people choose to travel during the Spring Festival. Nonetheless, for Chinese people, the Spring Festival plays an irreplaceable role in their culture.